Meet the Orchestra

David Samuel

viola, associate principal

Violist David Samuel was born in Guelph, Canada. From 2013-15 he was the violist of Ensemble MidtVest in Denmark, and was also the founding violist of the Afiara String Quartet, of which he was a member from 2006-2013. During his tenure with the quartet, they were awarded 2nd prize at the Munich ARD Competition, 2nd Prize and the Székely Prize for the best performance of a Beethoven Quartet at the Banff International String Quartet Competition, the Young Canadian Musicians Award and were winners of the Concert Artists Guild competition. He has performed at Wigmore Hall, Berlin Konzerthaus, the Esterházy Palace, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, at the headquarters of both LinkedIn and Facebook, and on “The Late Show with David Letterman”.

A dedicated teacher, David has served on the faculties of the University of Stavanger, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Preparatory and Extension Division. He was also a visiting instructor at the University of Alberta, the Glenn Gould School in Toronto, and Stanford University. David received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, and Artist Diploma from The Juilliard School, as well as an Artist Certificate in Chamber Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. His principal teachers include Michael Tree, KarenTuttle, Paul Hersh, and Henry Janzen.